hello guys! this is my first ever HTTYD fanfic so I'm sorry if it's awful! I've read some of the books and obviously watched the films too, but if some of the information from both crosses over I'm really sorry!

anyways enough of me blabbering on, enjoy the story and please please leave me comments! They keep me writing. ~ Watermelon-Dragon-Chibi

Title: How to be a Chief: The Story After

Pairings: Hiccup/Astrid(Relationship not focused on) | Toothless/Hiccup (platonic/friendship relationship only)

Rating: T (warnings: slight upsetting scenes and mild language)

Chapter: 1


One boy and his dragon lay side-by-side in the soft grasses of the glade.

"Toothless?" The boy spoke with a strong, nasally accent; his thick reddish-brown hair ruffled back in the Summer breeze and he plucked absentmindedly at the mosses growing beside his pale hand.

The sleek obsidian black dragon lifted it's head slowly, still half asleep; it opened it's huge mouth in a gaping yawn, his forked tongue flickered out and slipped back into his cavernous jaws which were noticeably stark of teeth, thus earning him his name.

The dragon made a noise that sounded halfway between a mewl and a heavy rumble.

"Do you think that one day this," the boy motioned to the glade and then up to the clear blue sky, "will all change?"

The dragon cocked it's head to the side and widened it's dazzlingly grass-green eyes, the closest expression a dragon could ever get to confusion evident on his face.

"You don't understand me, do you bud?"

The dragon rumbled again and lowered his head until it was level with the young Viking's.

His eyes stared directly into the boy's until he moved away, noticing that the human was starting to sway alarmingly; it has always been told that if you stare too long into a dragon's eyes you will lose yourself and fall into a state of hypnosis.

"Come on," the nasally voice spoke out, "we need to get back to Berk"

The boy stood up shakily, grimacing as he looked down and noticed that his prosthetic leg would need to be adjusting soon as it was starting to loosen up considerably.

He picked up a light-weight beige coloured leather saddle from the ground and made his way towards the dragon; he fastened the straps under the beast's belly and mounted it's back, clicking his metal leg into a foothold.

"Come on Toothless"

The beautiful creature spread it's scaly wings and let off a low pitched rumble as the man-made scarlet tail fanned out behind him, allowing him to fly.

"Hey bud?" The boy rose his voice, the dragon sounded a response to let him know that he was listening.

"...I don't want to do this"

The dragon turned his head back slightly to gaze at the human on his back.

"I mean, I don't want to be chief, it's too much too soon, y'know?" He lowered his head and sighed, suddenly becoming frustrated. "It's just that I... I have to do so much now, it's always Hiccup this and Hiccup that! 'Oh Hiccup, there's a Terrible Terror loose in the sheep pen!' or 'Hiccup! There's a hole in my roof' like, what the heck am I supposed to do about that?!" He grunted, "Why have I become a personal labourer to every single Viking on this side of the sea?!"

The dragon looked on ahead, he knew there was nothing he could do to alleviate his rider's stress, all he could do was be there for him when he needed to be free from his duties as chief, if only to breakaway for one evening.

When they arrived back in Berk, a rather large and irate looking Viking approached the young chief, he placed a large sweaty palm on his shoulder.

"And where have you been Hiccup?"

"Gobber, not now" Hiccup pushed the meaty hand off of his shoulder and made his way towards the hall where he lived, "come on Toothless" he called for the sleek black dragon to follow.

"HICCUP! This is serious! You can't just keep galavanting off to who knows where now that you're chief! Your place is here now; you need to be here at all times to fulfil your duties to Berk"

Hiccup continued to storm on past him, filled with a refreshed hatred of his newfound lifestyle.

"Hiccup! HICCUP GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW OR THOR HELP YOU!"

Hiccup, did not turn around; instead he slammed the heavy wooden door behind him and ran up to his room; he had been offered to move into his father's quarters after the funeral, however the boy had decided to remain on in his own familiar space.

"It's not FAIR!" he yelled as he flung his Viking helmet into the wall, denting the woodwork severely.

Toothless crept up beside him, pushing his head under the boy's arm to comfort him.

"Why can't it just go back to the way it was? I didn't realise how much being chief would change the way I live."

He sniffled indignantly as a hot tear slid down his freckled cheek.

Toothless whined at the sight of his young master crying, and pushed against Hiccup harder, knocking the Viking boy off his feet.

"Ow, Toothless" Hiccup made no attempt to get back up, and instead sat slumped with his back against the bed-frame.

The dragon lay down beside him, his head heavy in Hiccup's lap. He waited until Hiccup's eyes slid shut until he too decided to doze off into a light slumber.

It hadn't been anything new, that is, Hiccup's hatred of being chief. That much had been apparent from about three weeks into the job when the young Viking found himself being summoned for the most menial tasks by the village people, such as fixing leaks in fishing boats and and chasing Terrors from the livestock pens.

"Isn't this supposed to be someone else's job?!" Hiccup had stamped his feet and complained about the way he was being treated. When his father, the great Stoick the Vast had been chief before him, he had never seen his father deal with any situations other then of the utmost urgency or to pop in every now and then to see his son in Dragon Training.

"O' course not Hiccup!" Gobber had thumped him across the back, "they're jus' not used to ya yet, you just lack... As much 'presence' as yer father did"

"You mean just because I'm not as large or muscly as Dad I'm getting penalised for it?!"

"Hiccup, I don' know what that word means, but if yer helpin' out with the village then maybe people'll start to take to ya"

So just as Gobber had recommended him to do, Hiccup dealt with addressing everyone's domestic problems for months, months, and they showed no signs of letting up and allowing him to tend to his 'chiefly duties'

"I can't take it anymore!" Hiccup had pushed past Astrid harshly, causing them to engage in a heated yelling fit that lasted roughly half-an-hour that the whole of Berk could hear.

The days were getting harder, there was a shortage of fish and no one could figure out why. Hunting dragons were sent out, only to return with empty beaks and heavy hearts.

This was the first real crisis that Hiccup had to face as a chief, and with all of the other stresses he had put on him at the moment, he really didn't know if he could cope with it all.